Clockwork Prince Will's Perspective

The Cemetery

Clockwork Prince

Will's POV

I stood outside the cemetery listening to the anguished cries of the ghosts that came from within. The cries of the dead and the gone were not heard by most shadowhunters, but I was one of the few that could hear their shrieks.

I looked up at the gray sky above me, and immediately regretted it. They were the same color of her eyes. The same color of the eyes that I had be avoiding for the past several weeks. Unwillingly, the scene from the attic came back to me. The time I said those hurtful, and unforgivable things to her. I would never, ever forgive myself. I loved her more than anything. I always thought that I could stop myself from loving, that it wasn't that hard. I could live with what I had. That was before Tessa Gray had come to the institute. Why does her name have to sound like a bell? I thought. Her name was beautiful. I thought about all those sleepless nights in my room, whispering her name to the ceiling. Those were the only times I could say her name with a soft caress. I remember wishing that I could say it like that to her, but I couldn't. If I wanted her to live, she could not love me.

I shook those thoughts from my head. Get it together Herondale. I scolded myself mentally, those thoughts are going to get you nowhere. It's wishful thinking. She would never love you even if you let her. Focus on the task at hand. With that, I opened the door and stepped into the stone-cold cemetery.

"Hallo Mol," I said. "You're looking particularly fine tonight if I do say so" The spirit raised her head to look at me. Old Molly was a very strong spirit. Stronger than most spirits I had met. Even as the moonlight shone down so bright on her, she didn't look at all transparent. She was almost solid. Her hair was wound into a thick yellow-gray coil and set over one shoulder, her hands that had been overworked in life, now stood on her hips, raw and red in death. Her eyes flickered like a blue flame.

"William 'erondale, she said, her voice sending shivers down my spine. "Back again so soon?"

"You know I missed your pretty face." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm, but the ghost took no notice. She grinned as if she were delighted to see me, and truly happy over the compliment I had given her.

"What d'you want then, young shadowhunter? Malphas venom? I 'ave the talon of a Morax demon, polished very fine, the poison at the tip entirely invisble."

"No, That's not what I need. I need Foraii demon powders, ground fine."

"Now, what's a fine young man like you want with stuff like that?" Molly asked. I just sighed. Magnus has sent me to Molly more times than I could count. Her protests were just part of the bargaining process, but tonight, I certainly was not in the mood for any of this.

"You think I'm a fool. This is a trap innit? You Nephilim catch me selling that sort of stuff an' it's the stick for Old Mol', it is." Molly continued looking terrified at the very thought

"You're already dead" I said, trying my best not to sound exasperated. I had no patience for this. "I don't know what you think the clave could do to you now"I tried to reason, even though the information was not specifically true.

"Pah, the prisons of the silent brothers can 'old the dead and the living; you know that, shadowhunter.

"No tricks, old one. The clave has other things on its mind than tracking ghosts who traffic in demon powders, and faerie blood." I leaned in, and said "I'll give you a good price." I pulled out a bag from inside my coat pocket, and held it out to her. In the bag were wedding rings. Like all ghosts, Molly was looking for the one thing that would finally allow her to die. It was the anchor that kept her in the world. In her case, it was her wedding ring "They all fit your description Mol" I said almost teasing her. She pounced on the bag and looked through the bag of rings. When she was done, she dropped them all into the bag and they vanished. She then pulled out a folded satchet of powder, and handed it to me in return.

"Hold up, there, Mol" I said just as she was about to about to fade into the darkness. "That isn't all I have come for tonight.

"Very well. What else d'you want?

I hesitated. This was not something Magnus has asked for, but something that I wanted to know. It brought to my eyes, again, the image of Tessa, the way her cheeks dimpled whenever someone said anything even remotely funny. The way she always looked whenever she was reading a book, the way she used to look up at him like in the attic when he had been choking on the Holy Water.

"Love potions-" I began but was abruptly cut short by a shriek of laughter that came from Old Mol.

"Love potions? For Will 'erondale? T'aint my way to turn down payment, but any man that looks like you 'as got no need for love potions,and that's a fact." Molly cackled

"No" I said, even I could hear the desperation leaking into my voice. "I was looking for the opposite, really- something that might put an end to love."

"An 'atred potion" Molly asked, still sounding amused for some reason.

"I was hoping for something more akin to indifference? Tolerance? I asked. Now there was no mistaking the desperation in my voice.

"I 'ardly like to tell you this, Nephilim, but if you want a girl to 'ate you, there's easy enough ways of making it 'appen. You don't need my help with the poor thing" Molly said, and with that, she vanished.

"Not for her" I spoke softly, "for me."